Excavator and loader.



J. McGIRR.

EXCAVATOR AND LOADER. APPLICATION min on. 9. 191a.

Patented June 12,

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J. McGI RR.

EXCAVATOR AND LOADER.

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J. McGlRR. EXCAVATOR AND LOADER.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 9. I913.

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J. McGIRR.

EXCAVATOR AND LOADER. APPLICATION man OCT. 9. 191a.

Patented June 12, 191?.

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m m m. an b g g WITNESSES ATTORNEY lllhllZfED TATES PATENT @FFlQE.

JOHN MGGIRR, OF DE KALB, ILLINOIS. ASSIGNOB, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGN-MENTS, OF FOUR-TENTHS TO JACOB GINSBUBG AND ONE-TENTH TO GEORGE 1?.HAMBRECHT, BOTH OF GRAND RAPIDS, 'VJISCONSIN.

EXCAVATOR AND LOADER.

Application filed October 9, 1913.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN MOGIRR, a citizen of the United States,residing at De Kalb, in the county of Dekalb and State of Illinois, haveinvented a new and useful Excavator and Loader, of which the followingis a s )GCifiCHtlOD.

l he invention relates to an excavating and wagon loading machine.

The object of the present invention is to provide a simple, practicaland comparatively inexpensive excavating machine of strong and durableconstruction and maximum capacity, adapted for excavating eel lars,making cuts and fills in railroad constructions, digging ditches, andthe like, and capable of elevating the excavated material and of loadingthe same on wagons and other vehicles. A further object of the inventionis to provide a machine of this character adapted for loading variouskinds of materials, and equipped with means adapted to scoop or excavatedirectly in front of the machine and also at a distance to either sideof the same, whereby the machine without changing its position isadapted to excavate a relatively large area. Another object of theinvention is to provide a gravity acting unloading device adapted to bedropped into position for engaging the contents of a bucket, and capablethrough the return movement of the bucket of automatically unloading thesame and of discharging the contents of the bucket onto an elevating andloading conveyer.

lVith these and other objects in view, the invention consists in theconstruction and novel combination of parts hereinafter fully described,illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claimshereto appended; it being understood that various changes in the form,proportion, size and minor details of construction, with in the scope ofthe claims, nay be resorted to without departing from the spirit orsacrilicing any of the advantages of themventi on In the drawings 2Figure 1 is a side elevation of an excavating and loading machine,constructed in accordance with this invention.

Fig. 1 is a detail view showing the outer pers n he r turn cabl an the gde Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June i2, 191?.

Serial No. 794,280.

pulley for carrying the bucket back into the excavation or other placeof operation.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same.

Fig. 3 is a plan view.

rt is a central longitudinal. sectional view.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all thefigures of the drawings.

' In the accompanying drawings in which is illustrated the preferredembodiment of the invention, the machine comprises in its crmstruction amain frame or supporting framework 1, mounted on front and rear wheels 2and to enable it to be conveniently transported from one place toanother. The main frame or framework is designed to be constructed ofany suitable material, and in the accompanying illustration it iscomposed of horizontal side sills 4: connected by suitable transversebeams 5 and having mounted upon them front and rear uprights 6 and 7,which support the upper ends of oppositely inclined frame pieces ormembers 8 and 9. The inclined members 9, which are located at oppositesides of the frame, extend upwardly and rearwardly from the front endsof the sills to the upper portions of the rear upright 7, and they alsoproject in advance of the sills, extending downwardly and forwardly, asclearly illustrated in Fig. 1; of the draw ings. The said inclined framepieces or members 9 are supported between their ends by intermediatevertical posts or uprights 10 and 11, arranged in pairs at oppositesides of the frame and mounted upon the side sills at the ends of thetransverse beams 5. The oppositely inclined frame pieces or members 8have their lower ends mounted.

upon and suitably secured to the inclined frame pieces 9 at a pointintermediate of the ends thereof, and they extend upwardly and forwardlyfrom the said inclined frame pieces 9 to the upper ends of the frontuprights 6, being preferably connected at their upper terminals by across piece 12. The upper ends of the rear uprights 7 are connected by across piece 13, and the sides of the frame are also braced bylongitudinal side pieces 14, extending from the front upright 6 to theinclined frame members 9. The frame, h r ma b ns r c ed n any othersuitable manner to provide a supporting structure of the desiredstrength to adapt the machine to the character of work for which it maybe designed.

The machine is equipped at the back of the main frame with a chutesupporting frame 15, consisting of an elevated platform 16 supported atits inner portion by the rear uprights 7 of the main frame and at itsouter portion by uprights 17, located a suflicient distance from themain frame to provide a passageway for vehicles. The chute supportingframe is designed in practice to be secured to the main frame by anysuitable means, so that it may be removed therefrom when the machine isto be transferred to another place. The platform, which has its innerend supported upon a cross piece 18 of the mainframe, is located at asufficient elevation to enable a wagon 19, or other vehicle to be runbeneath a chute 20 mounted upon the platform and an opening 21 thereofand extending upwardly at an inclination to a point beneath an inclinedendless conveyer.

The inclined endless conveyer, which is disposed longitudinally of themachine centrally thereof, extends upwardly and rearwardly from thefront terminal portions of the inclined frame piece 9 to a point abovethe chute, and it comprises an endless belt or apron 22 supported atintervals by transverse slats 23, which are suitably secured at theirterminals to sprocket chains 24, located at opposite sides of theconveyer and arranged on upper and lower sprocket wheels 25 and 26. Thesprocket wheels are arranged at the ends of upper and lower rolls 27 and28, preferably mounted on shafts 29 and 30, which are journaled insuitable bearings of the main frame. The upper and lower sprocket wheelsare suitably fixed to the shafts 29 and 30, and the lower shaft 30 ispreferably carried in adjustable bearings 31, slidably mounted insuitable guides 32 and adapted to be adjusted by screws 33 formaintaining the sprocket chains at the desired tension. The endless beltor apron, which is constructed of suitable flexible material, is loopedbetween the transverse slats to provide flexible pockets 34, adapted toreceive material from a central bucket 35. The material, which may beexcavated earth, manure, or any other material, which it is desired toload, is discharged onto the lower front portion of the endless conveyerand falls into the pockets 34 and is carried upward by the same to apoint above the chute 20. The pockets in passing around the upper rolldischarge their contents into the chute and the material is directed bythe same into the wagon 19, or other vehicle or receptacle,

The central bucket 35, which may be constructed of any suitablematerial, is prefi erably of the scraping or excavating type and iscomposed of a straight flat bottom 36, spaced parallel side walls and acurved rear wall 37', which is preferably formed integral with andconstitutes a continuation of the bottom 36. Any other preferred form ofbucket may, of course, be employed, and it is equipped'at the back withprojecting han dles 38, adapted to enable the bucket to be held inposition for causing the same to dig into the ground, or into thematerial to be loaded. The main frame is equipped at the front with aninclined guide or skid 39, extending upwardly and rearwardly from theground to a point above the lower portion of the endless conveyor andprovided above the same with an opening lO through which the materialfalls when it is discharged. from the bucket. The conveyer extendssubstantially across the space between the sides of the frame, and thefront terminals of the inclined frame pieces or members 9 are connectedby a transverse wall ll, located above the front end of the conveyer andadapted to cooperate with the lower portions of the said frame membersor pieces 9 to form a partial hopper forretaiir ing the material on theconveyer until it is carried upward in the pockets 81. The inclinedguide or skid may be constructed of any suitable material and inpractice it is designed to be removably mounted on the front projectingportion of the main frame and is adapted to be removed therefrom whenthe machine is to be moved.

The bucket is provided at its front with a pivoted bail 4-2 to which isconnected a draft cable 13, wound around and extending from a centralhorizontally disposed drum 41:4 and adapted to be operated to drawthe'bucket from the point where it is filled to the machine and onto thesame. The bucket is drawn up the inclined guide or skid until itoccupies a position over the opening 40, which is of a width slightlyless than the guide or skid, supporting portions for the bucket beingarranged at opposite sides of the discharge opening 40. The bucket isreturned to the point of excavation by means of a cable 45, secured atone end to the rear portion of the bucket at 16 and extending around aguide pulley 47 and having its other end portion attached to and woundaround a horizontal drum 49. The guide pulley or sheave 47 is mounted ina suitable supporting frame 50, which is anchored the proper distance inadvance of the machine, the central bucket 35 being adapted to travelback and forth to and from the machine.

The contents of the bucket are removed by means of an unloading device51, preferably composed of spaced sides 52, pivoted at their inner endsat 53 to the outer side faces of the f o t up g t 6 a d connec d attheir outer ends by a transverse rod or portion 54, which is providedwith a series of depending curved fingers or tines 55, adapted to extenddownwardly into the bucket adjacent to the curved rear wall thereof. Inpractice the unloading device will be sufliciently heavy to be gravityacting, so that when it is permitted to descend, it will enter thebucket and penetrate the material. The unloading device is connectedwith the hoisting cable 56 suitably connected at its lower or outer endto the transverse bar or portion of the unloading device and extendingupwardly therefrom to a drum 57, adapted to elevate the unloading deviceand maintain the same in an elevated position until the bucket has beendrawn upwardly over the discharge opening 40. As soon as the bucket isin position, the drum is op erated to permit the unloading device todrop by gravity into the bucket, and when the latter is moved downwardlyand outwardly by the return cable, its contents are automatically rakedfrom it by the unloading device, which remains in a relatively fixedposition.

The central bucket is adapted to excavate and operate on the material tobe loaded at points directly in front of the machine, and in order toenable the latter to excavate and otherwise operate at opposite sides ofit, the machine is equipped with vertical side drums 58 having cables59, each of which extends forwardly in a direction longitudinally of thema chine to a suitable guide pulley and then transversely of the machineacross the front thereof to the opposite side of the same, as clearlyillustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings. Each cable 59 is equipped with aside bucket 61, constructed similar to the central bucket and adapted toexcavate and carry the excavated earth or other material from a pointlaterally of the machine to a point directly in front of the same, inorder that such material may then be carried to the conveyer by thecentral bucket in the manner before described. The paths of travel ofthe central and side buckets intersect, and the pulleys or sheaves 60are suitably mounted on stakes or posts 62, which are designed to bedriven into the ground at the proper point in advance of the verticalside drums, but the side cables may be guided in any other suitablemanner, and the transverse portions may be arranged at any angle to thelongitudinally disposed portions and they enable the machine to excavaterelatively large areas at each side of it. Any suitable means may beemployed for returning the side shovels to the points of excavation. Thevertical drums are mounted upon shafts 63, journaled in suitablebearings of lateral extensions or wings 64 of the main frame. Thelateral extensions or wings are preferably composed of upper and lowerhorizontal El of:

beams connected at their outer ends by vertical pieces and secured attheir inner ends to the sides of the main frame, but they may, ofcourse, be of any other preferred construction and may be braced in anysuitable manner to secure the requisite strength.

The machine may be equipped with a suitable engine or motor, but in theaccompanying drawings provision is made for operating the machine froman independent source of power.- For this purpose the pulleys 65 and 66are mounted on a relatively short longitudinal shaft 67, which isjournaled in suitable bearings of the main frame at one side of themachine. The pulleys 65 and 66 are adapted to receive a belt 68, asillus trated in dotted lines in Fig. 3 of the drawings, for connectingit to a suitable engine or motor. The pulleys 65 and 66, which are rigidwith each other, are loose on the shaft and are designed to be coupledto the same by a suitable clutch 69, having an operating lever 70. Asany preferred form of clutch may be employed, a detail description ofthe several clutches of the machine is deemed unnecessary. Thelongitudinal shaft 67 is provided at its rear end with a beveled pinion71, which meshes with a beveled gear wheel 72, mounted on a transverseshaft 7 3, and th latter carries a spur pinion 74, which meshes withalarge spur gear wheel 7 5 keyed or otherwise fixed to a countershaft 76from which the conveyer and the various drums of the machine receivetheir motion. The shaft 29 of the upper roll 27 of the conveyer has anextended end portion 77, which is connected by sprocket gearing 78 withthe transverse shaft at one end thereof. This gearing transmits motionfrom the countershaft to the endless conveyer, which operatescontinuously while the driving pulleys 65 and 66 are clutched to thelongitudinal shaft. The shaft 79 of the central horizontal drum 44 isconnected by sprocket gearing 80 with the countershaft 7 6, a suitableclutch 81 being provided at the shaft 79 for connecting the sprocketgearing with and disconnecting it from the shaft 79. The operating lever82 of the clutch 81 extends clownwardly to a point within easy reach ofthe operator when standing upon the ground at the side of the machine.The clutch 81 is thrown into operation for winding up the draft cable todraw the central bucket into the machine, and it is thrown out ofoperation to permit the draft cable to unwind freely when the drum 49 ofthe return cable 45 is rotated to carry the bucket back to the point ofexcavation or to other material to be loaded. The shaft 48 of the drum49 is connected by sprocket gearing 83 with the transverse shaft 76. Thesprocket gearing 83 is located at the opposite side of the machine fromthat at which the sprocket gearing 80 located, and it has a suitableclutch,

Si operated by a lever 85, extending to a point within easy reach fromthe ground.

The shaft 86 of the hoisting drum 5'? of the unloading device isconnected with the countershaft 7Gby sprocket gearing S7 having a clutch88 operated by a lever 89. The shafts 63 of the vertical drums areprovided at their upper ends with horizontal beveled gear wheels 90,which mesh with beveled piuions 91. of transverse shafts 92, jour--naled in suitable bearings at the tops of the laterally extending wingsor supports (3t and connected with the countershaft 76 by sprocketgearing 93, located at opposite sides of the machine and provided withclutches 94, which have operating levers 95 adapted to throw thevertical side drums into and out of operation. The central and sidebuckets may b operated independently or sinmltaneously by means of theseveral clutches, which are adapted to connect the drums of the variouscables with and disconnect them from the continumisly rotatingcountershaft. By this construction and operation, excavations may berapidly made and the excavated material may be easily and quicklyloaded.

hat is claimed is 1. In a. machine of the character described, a mainframe, a skid mounted upon said main frame, a shovel, means for movingsaid shovel to and from said skid, means for engagingtho contents of theshovel to unload the same, and actuating means for moving said unloadingmeans out of the path of movement of said shovel.

2. In a machine of the character described, a main frame, a shovel,means for. moving said shovel to and from said main frame for thepurpose of unloading the same, a device pivoted at one end to said mainframe, the opposite end of said device be ing provided with down *ardlyextending fingers adapted to engage the load upon the shovel at the rearthereof, and means for moving said load engaging device around its pivotas an axis.

In a machine of the character described, a conveyor, a skid at the lowerend of said conveyor, a shovel, means for moving said shovel to and fromsaid skid, means for engaging the contents of the shovel to unload thesame, and means for moving said contents engaging means out of the pathof said shovel.

a. In a machine of the character described, a conveyor arranged toelevate material, a shovel, means for moving said shovel to and from theconveyor, an unloading device pivotally mounted at one end above saidconveyor and provided at its opposite end with depending fingersarranged to engage the contents of the shovel whereby said contents willbe automatically raked from the shovel n t e ret rn inQ ment of th l ttr.

5. A machine of the class described including a conveyor arranged toelevate the n'iaterial, a shovel, means for carrying the shovel to andfrom the conveyor, a gravity acting unloading device mounted at the saidconveyor for upward and downward move ment and provided with means forengaging the contents of the shovel, and hoisting mechanism locatedabove and connected with the unloading device.

(3. In a machine of the character described, a main frame provided withanunloading point, a central shovel located at one end of said machineand mo able toward and away from said unloading point, a side shovelmovable transversely of the machine and of the path of said centralshovel for carrying material into said path of the cen tral shovel, andmeans for operating said shovels.

7. A machine of the class described including a conveyor, a central.shovel located in advance of the machine and arranged to carry materialto and from the said conveyor, a side shovel movable transversely of themachine for carrying material into the path of the central shovel, thepaths of movement of the central and side shovels intersecting, andmeans for operating the said shovels.

8. A machine of the class described in cludin a conveyor, a centralshovel arranged to operate in front of the machine for carrying materialto the said conveyor, side shovels located in advance of and spaced fromthe said conveyor, said side shovels being each'movable across the frontof the said conveyor for carrying material into the path of the centralshovel, and means for operating the said shovels.

9. A machine of the class described including a conveyor, a centralshovel located in front of the conveyor, mechanism connected with thecentral shovel for moving the same backwardly and forwardly to carry thesaid shovel to and from the conveyor, and means located in advance ofand spaced from the conveyor and movable laterally across the front ofthe said conveyor for carrying material laterally of the machine intothe path of the central shovel.

10. A machine of the class described in cluding a conveyor, a centralshovel operating in front of the conveyor, means for moving the saidshovel to the said conveyor, a side drum mounted at one side of themachine, a cable connected with and extonding from the side drum andhaving a forwardly extending longitudinal portion and a transverseportion extending across the machine to the opposite side thereof, and aside shovel connected to the said transverse portion for conveyingmaterial into the path of the central shovel.

1 A ma h f t c as de cribe i eluding a conveyer, a central shoveloperating in front of the conveyer, means for moving the said shovel tothe said con veyer, a vertical side drum located at one side of themachine, guiding means arranged in advance of the side drum, a cableconnected with the side drum and extending therefrom to the guidingmeans and having a transversely disposed portion extending across thefront of the machine to the opposite side thereof, and means connectedwith the said transverse portion of the cable of the side drum forconveying material into the path of the central shovel.

12. A machine of the class described including a frame provided withlaterally extending supports or wings, a conveyer mounted on the framebetween the said supports or wings, centrally arranged means forcarrying material to the said conveyer, side drums mounted on the saidwings or supports, cables connected with the said drums and extendingforwardly therefrom and provided with reversely arranged transverseportions extending across the front of the machine to opposite sidesthereof and provided with means for conveying material into the path ofthe said central means, and guides for the cables of the side drums.

13. A machine of the class described including a frame having laterallyprojecting supports or wings, a conveyer located between the saidsupports or wings, central means for carrying material to the conveyer,vertical side drums mounted in the supports or wings, cables connectedwith the side drums and having forwardly eX- tending longitudinallydisposed portions, and outer portions extending across the front of themachine to the opposite sides thereof and provided with means forcarrying material into the path of the said central means, horizontalgear wheels connected with the upper ends of the drums, transverseshafts located at opposite sides of the frame and having pinions meshingwith the said gear wheels, and means for rotating the said shafts.

14. A machine of the class described including a frame, an inclinedconveyer mounted on the main frame, a central shovel for conveyingmaterial to the frame, central horizontal drums mounted on the frame andhaving draft and return cables connected with the central shovel, sidedrums located at opposite sides of the machine and provided with sidecables extending forwardly from the machine to points in advance of thesame and having reversely arranged transverse portions extending acrossthe front of the machine to opposite sides thereof, side shovelsconnected with the transverse portions of the side cables, and gearingmounted on the machine for operating the said drums.

15. A machine of the class described ineluding a frame, an inclinedconveyer mounted on the frame, a central shovel for conveying materialto the frame, central horizontal drums mounted. on the frame and havingdraft and return cables connected with the central shovel, side drumslocated at opposite sides of the machine and provided with side cablesextending forwardly from the machine to points in advance of the sameand having reversely arranged transverse portions extending across thefront of the machine to opposite sides thereof, side shovels connectedwith the transverse portions of the side cables, side gearing connectedwith the side drums, a transverse shaft mounted on the frame andextending across the same, and sprocket gearing connecting thetransverse shaft with the central horizontal drums and with the sidegearing of the side drums.

16. A. machine of the class described including a frame, an inclinedconveyer mounted on the frame, a central shovel for conveying materialto the frame, central horizontal drums mounted on the frame and havingdraft and return cables connected with the central shovel, side drumslocated at opposite sides of the machine and provided with side cablesextending for wardly from the machine to points in advance of the sameand having reversely arranged transverse portions extending across thefront of the machine to opposite sides thereof, side shovels connectedwith the transverse portion of the side cables, side gearing connectedwith the side drums, a transverse shaft mounted on the frame andextending across the same, an unloading device for the central shovel, ahorizontal hoisting drum having a cable connected with the unloadingdevice, and sprocket gearing connecting the transverse shaft with theconveyer, the horizontal drums and With the said side gearing.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have heretoaffixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

JOHN MGGIBR.

Witnesses:

H. A. BENJAMIN, Cr-rAs. E. Brennan.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

